Written By: Kenneth Chungath
My name is Kenneth Chungath and I am currently pursuing my master’s in Computer Science. A little bit about myself, I am an international student at UCI and my home country is India. In my free time, I like to play badminton as well as binge-watch TV shows. As you may have guessed from my introduction that I spend most of my time hunched over my laptop trying to meet deadlines. More often than not I feel the need to get out, move my body, and get some sunshine. So if you are anything like me, stick around for a few more minutes.
Exercise opportunities:
- The ARC (UCI Campus Recreation):
The Anteater Recreation Center(ARC) is a great place to work out and get those endorphins flowing. The ARC is home to a swimming pool, two fitness centers, numerous sports courts, an indoor jogging track, and a climbing wall just to name a few.
To top it off, the ARC is free to UCI students, so try to make the most of it while you are here. The gyms at the ARC are usually very crowded during the beginning of each quarter, so it would be wise to drop by a bit earlier than you think. Secondly, the courts are open at specific times. You can find more information here: UCI Campus Recreation Web Calendar. The ARC also offers classes for group activities such as F45, yoga, etc. You can read more about the same here: UCI Campus Recreation
- Club sports (Anteater Club Sports):
Club Sports at UCI are student-initiated and student-managed clubs that provide opportunities in recreational and competitive activities of interest to the student body. Participating in club sports provides an outlet for competing in athletics or learning new recreational activities. Club sports are somewhere in-between: UCI students can play a sport or do an activity and often will compete against other colleges. Club sports encompass a variety of sports activities including but not limited to archery, badminton, fencing, figure skating, soccer, rugby, sailing, etc.
- Hiking and Running:
There are plenty of running trails in and around Irvine. Some of these include:
- Aldrich Park:
Aldrich Park is a great place to begin running if you are new to the sport. The inner ring road is about 1km, and the outer ring road is about 1.6km(1 mile). The trail is shady for the most part with relatively little elevation.
- Bommer Canyon (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/bommer-canyon-trail):
This is a great nearby and easy hike or trail run. It is located about two miles from UCI. Bommer Canyon can be considered as an easy/medium hiking trail. The trail length is about 4.5 miles. The trail gets steep at some points but overall it’s not that difficult to complete.
- Turtle Rock Trail (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/turtle-rock):
Turtle rock is rated as a moderate hike in terms of difficulty. The trail might get crowded during the weekends. This trail is probably the closest one to UCI, especially for on-campus housing. Turtle Rock is a short hike but it has quite a bit of elevation. The peak offers a beautiful view of the turtle rock housing community.
- Crystal Cove State Park (Hiking in Crystal Cove State Park):
Crystal Cove State Park offers you 18 miles of hiking trails through 2,400 acres of native wilderness. This location is great for a beach run and it is about 3 miles in length. Crystal Cove does offer paid parking, so you may want to keep this in mind before your hike.
- Snowboarding/Skiing:
During the winter break, you will have plenty of time to use those snow boots and skies and travel up north towards places such as Mount Baldy and Big Bear.
- Explore SoCal (https://ic.uci.edu/programs/exploresocal.php):
Explore Socal is series of trips offered by the International Center during every quarter (it’s usually three trips per quarter). This is an excellent opportunity to meet new people and make friends especially if you are an international student. Also, these trips are free, and the IC takes care of transportation as well.
Thank you for reading this article in its entirety and I hope that you have a wonderful time at UCI. As they say, work hard, play harder! Zot, zot, zot